Why Hummingbird offers a fantastic opportunity for your SEO strategy

On October 3 last year, Google announced the release of a brand new algorithm.

They named it “Hummingbird” and it’s set to revolutionise the way we search.

I know there are lots of you reading this now – throwing your arms up in dismay – as you wonder just what impact this latest change will have on your business. After all, you’ve seen it before with Penguin, Panda and the countless other algorithm updates. It’s hard to keep up to speed – especially when it seems that all the good work you’ve implemented to boost your organic rankings, quickly gets taken away.

But fear not! All is NOT as it seems.

That’s because, regardless of this latest algorithm change, Google’s objectives are still the same as they’ve always been.

In short, Google wants you to give the end-user the best possible search experience. Which means the sites that provide useful, relevant and interesting content will continue to be rewarded.

I love my smartphone. In fact, I can’t imagine not being connected on the go. But the thing with those tiny smartphone keypads is it’s not that easy to type. As a result, more and more people are using voice search when out and about.

As you’d expect, the phrases and search requests that emerge when you speak a query are very different from the keyword-focused enquiries you’ve learnt to type into Google.

Google has identified this change, and has responded.

In the past, websites ranked for keywords.

But with Hummingbird, Google has just got a whole lot smarter. Instead of matching individual words, Google is now able to decipher the meaning of phrases with concepts. In short, we’re seeing a shift away from matching clunky keywords to a match for natural language.

Matt Cutt’s summarised this as: “The future is about things, not keyword strings.” And as a quick recap, what this means is:

The importance of keyword-centric content is diminishing

The importance of content written in natural language is increasing

But don’t worry! This shift is actually good news for sites who have been doing their SEO right…

That’s because Google has said all along that you need to write for the end-user. Don’t try to play the game or find the SEO loopholes because they WILL be closed. It’s why shortsighted, spammy tactics such as unnatural links and keyword stuffing no longer work. Instead, you need to:

Ensure you have high-quality, original, relevant content on your site

Ensure you have high-quality, relevant websites linking to your site

This advice is nothing new.

In fact, this advice repeats what Google has said in the past. Follow these two rules and you’ll be rewarded. In comparison, try anything that offers a quick win or is spammy, and you’ll be punished. Simple.

What content works NOW?

If you’ve been writing for your end-user, using their language and writing content that matches the things they search for, the likelihood is you will automatically rank well under Hummingbird.

In addition, you now have a new opportunity to rank even higher (and drive even more FREE traffic to your website) for much less work.

Let me tell you why.

Let’s say you run a web design business.

In the past, you may have produced numerous pages of content to rank for common keywords such as “web design”, “web design ideas”, “web design basics” etc.

But since Hummingbird, Google is intelligent enough to know that all of these themes mean pretty much the same thing.

“Remember – Google is now starting to rank websites for themes NOT keywords.”

Therefore, instead of writing lots of disjointed articles, you can focus on creating that lovely evergreen “topic-related” content that uses the natural language your customers are using. You don’t need to create lots of repetitive content because Google can recognise your theme and rank you for your theme.

As a result, you may find that a really good piece of content will rank for a much wider range of search terms than before.

FAQ pages could also prove valuable – especially if you answer the questions people are asking (remembering to use natural language of course).

Another interesting avenue that’s worth exploring is “Google Suggest”. You may have noticed that when you start entering a search request, Google automatically “suggests” some search queries that you might be interested in (a bit like predictive text on your mobile). These suggestions are based on the volume of searches and provide an insight into what people are searching for. In turn, Google Suggest can help you isolate groups of keywords that are relevant to your site AND reveal what people want to know about. It’s a new way to identify natural language patterns and pick content themes to write about.

In summary…

It’s true. The Google landscape is changing again. And I predict that the arrival of Hummingbird is just the start.

But in my opinion, this latest change is a good thing because finally, you’ll be able to create (and be rewarded) for content that contains natural language patterns.

So put your end-user firmly in your mind and write for them.

Write content that speaks their language

Answer the pressing questions that are on their lips

Make your content interesting and relevant

And you will be rewarded…

What do you think?

Have you noticed a change in your rankings since Hummingbird? Have you made any changes to your content strategy and seen a payback? Please let me know in the comments below.

About Hazel Jarrett

Hazel Jarrett, SEO Consultant and founder of SEO+, helps businesses attract and convert website visitors.
She's had the opportunity to work with a huge variety of businesses over the years and has gained a big reputation for delivering no-nonsense SEO that works. Follow Hazel on Twitter (@SEOPlusMore), Google+, Facebook and LinkedIn

Comments

Hi Dave, unfortunately recovery can take time. Have you corrected everything that Google has penalised you for? And are you continuing to create great content for your audience that can be shared on various social media platforms?

Still today, I was understanding SEO very complex after the introduction of Hummingbird update but today, I am pleased to read that Hummingbird makes smooth and simple SEO strategy and it is quite easy to get success just focusing on the contents. You answers all the questions which I had in my mind. I recommend all the bloggers to read your post and follow your techniques for fantastic opportunity of SEO after Hummingbird 🙂